The present invention provides a porous composite material in which substantially all of the pores within the composite material are small having a diameter of about 5 nm or less and with a narrow PSD. The inventive composite material is also characterized by the substantial absence of the broad distribution of larger sized pores which is prevalent in prior art porous composite materials. The porous composite material includes a first solid phase having a first characteristic dimension and a second solid phase comprised of pores having a second characteristic dimension, wherein the characteristic dimensions of at least one of said phases is controlled to a value of about 5 nm or less.